Pointe Me to Evans
by Sarah Jo Dantess
Summary: Lily Evans has been dancing her whole life. It is part of her Muggle heritage, and connects the two worlds of hers when she is asked to choreograph for a Hogwarts showcase. Will Lily prove herself, make friends, and catch the eye of James Potter?
1. The Challenge

**_For those of us who love Lily and James, the theater, music, dancing, and life. A little babble of my heart._**  
><strong><em>Enjoy the story,<em>**  
><strong><em>-S.J.D.<em>**

* * *

><p>"You wanted to see me, Professor McGonagall?" Lily asked quietly as she poked her head through the door of the Transfigurations classroom. The older woman, kind, though stern, looked up from her desk and held her hand out to greet the young witch, motioning to a transfigured chair in front of her desk.<p>

"Ah, yes, Miss Evans, come in, please. Sit." Lily nodded and entered the room, shutting the door behind her. If this was any matter of academic concern, which she guessed that it most likely was, then she wouldn't want anyone to see her crying. Transfigurations was Lily Evans' absolute worst subject, though, it was similar to Charms, her best subject, she observed as she shuffled across the floor. So why should she be so awful at Transfigurations? Yes, it required much more concentration, precise wand movements, and correctly pronounced incantations, but was that so difficult? Lily knew it shouldn't be, and maybe one of these days she would find out why she couldn't even do the things that the wizards in the Muggle stories could always do: turn one thing into something else. It was stereotypical of her, but perhaps she had been brainwashed into questioning her magical ability that way because Petunia always did.

Lily held her head up and brushed off the thought of Petunia, refusing to think about her sister right now. Then she would start crying even before Professor McGonagall told her she was failing. She nodded to the woman, whose greyish-green eyes behind her spectacles hadn't left her since she entered, and sank down into the comfy chair, remembering, for once, to sit up straight as her mother had taught her. _If she thinks I'm well-mannered, maybe she won't be angry with me_, Lily thought, trying it out.

"How are you?" McGonagall asked first. Lily tried to keep the note of surprise out of her voice.

"I'm…I'm well, Professor, and yourself?" Lily said slowly, choosing her words carefully. Incorrect grammar was a luxury she could not afford at the moment, she thought, and silently allowed her cool to punch her worried mind, cursing herself for being so uptight under this pressure.

"Fine. Anyway, first things first. How are your classes?" Minerva continued, marking things on her papers every few moments. Lily straightened her neck up even further, not allowing herself to squirm under the Professor's steady eye.

"Good. Very good. I'm glad to be finding everything I'm learning so interesting." Her lips dripped with the honeyed words. _Might as well sugar-coat some things in this world. Oh, Lily, you enormous suck-up._ McGonagall seemed not to notice her deliberate kissing up, and smiled briefly as she looked up from the stack of papers that was becoming smaller and smaller as the clock ticked in the corner of the room.

"Wonderful. But, I did not call you here to talk about your grades. I was wondering if you might consider doing a sort of…extra service, if I excused you from your nightly prefect duties to take care of this..."

Lily only heard half of what she was saying. She was far too busy subtly sighing with relief after the Professor had clearly said, "I did not call you here to talk about your grades." Professor McGonagall seemed to notice and chuckled lightly. "Always worried about school, are we, Miss Evans? No matter, that's a crucial quality to possess as a student. Anyway, I was going to say that I have heard from friends of yours in my house that you are a talented dancer and choreographer. Am I false, or can you confirm this?" Lily's dark red eyebrows shot up. How…oh, was she going to murder Alice later. Not wanting to keep McGonagall waiting for an answer, Lily stammered,

"Ah…w-well, I…y-you see, I…erm…" Lily looked up from the floor where her eyes had immediately run away to as soon as McGonagall had asked her the question and gulped. Professor McGonagall was still smiling, looking rather amused at the moment. Lily swallowed hard and removed her index finger from the hair that had, she guessed, probably not twined itself around it. "I mean, I love to dance, Professor McGonagall. I have for years. I did always in my Muggle life before I came here, and I still train in dancing when I go home in the summers. Why do you ask?"

Professor McGonagall was clearly trying not to laugh at Lily's nervousness. "Well, dear, that is enough proof for me. The Head Boy and Head Girl have expressed their desire for student-produced entertainment at this school, and the Headmaster Dumbledore has most emphatically approved of their suggestions. I was wondering if you would be willing to offer your services as a choreographer for a show sometime this term. You would not be alone, certainly, and we would be very appreciative. What do you think?"

Lily stared, her mouth agape, for several seconds before she caught her breath and sat up straighter. "That sounds awfully tempting, Professor, but how much more would you be able to tell me about all of this before I can agree to anything?"

"We already have a director. Do you know Emelia Ponder?" Lily tilted her head, thinking. _Emmy! Oh, I love Emmy! She'll be wonderful as a director, too! She's so creative!_ Lily nodded vigorously.

"From Hufflepuff?"

"Yes. Also, I've spoken to Johannah Caseley already. She has agreed to be co-choreographer. You know Johannah, I presume?" Lily nodded again. Johannah was a sweet, very pretty brown-haired, grey-eyed fifth-year girl in Gryffindor. "You should speak to Emelia and ask her what her ideas are and then you and Johannah can decide how much time you will need to hold rehearsals and auditions. There are throngs of students here at Hogwarts that are willing to participate as dancers, and some of them may not be very good yet, but they can be trained, as your friends have told me that you say very often."

Lily's lips spread into a small smile and her eyes softened. _Maybe I don't have to kill Alice or anyone after all_, she thought, ideas slowly forming in her mind and gaining her approval. McGonagall cleared her throat.

"I do not believe I have left any information out. Should you choose to be a contributor, you three have the full support of the staff here. Will you think about it, Miss Evans?" Lily pressed her lips together, her eyes not looking at any particular place, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. This sounded like a really fun and entertaining idea. Lily loved to dance just as much as she loved being a good student, and, realizing this, she knew she could put a balance between the two when time management came to be questioned. She knew immediately that she wanted her chance to prove that her capability loomed beyond the classroom. She looked up to the Professor and smiled.

"Yes, Professor. I love the idea, and I'll surely think about it. I'll talk to Emmy when I see her. Thank you, very much, Professor." Professor McGonagall beamed with what Lily recognized as house pride.

"Wonderful, Miss Evans. I know you are very capable and responsible. I think we'll expect great things out of this show, if you decide it suits your fancy." Professor McGonagall reached across the table to shake Lily's hand, then let her go.

Lily walked away from the classroom with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. _Toe, ball, heel, toe, ball, heel, _she found herself thinking as she shifted the balance between the different areas of her feet. _Merlin,_ _I really am a dancer_, she thought, smiling a tiny bit wider to herself. Yes, indeed, this was going to be fun. She ran up to the Owlery quickly to send a message to Emmy. Taking a sheet of parchment and a quill from her bag, Lily scrawled,

_Dear Emmy,_

_Professor McGonagall asked me to be a choreographer in this show. I must say, I'm really excited about the idea. Can I talk to you soon about your ideas? I think you'll be an extraordinary director, Emmy! Any ideas you've got, I'm sure I'll love them! I need to know what I can work with and how much time we will need to prepare for this. Write back soon, please._

_Best wishes,_

_Lily Evans_

Lily finished the note, satisfied, and beckoned her brown and white tawny owl, Braun, to come down from his perch on one of the beams with some treats. He flew down and landed on her arm, nipping her forehead lovingly. She giggled, gave him the treats, and tied the letter to his leg. "Good boy, Braun. Fly that to Emmy Ponder, will you?" With that, Braun pecked her index finger and took off. She smiled as she watched him fly away, then gathered up her things and practically skipped down the stairs.

Ever since her friendship with Sev-_Snape_, she corrected herself, had so abruptly ended, Lily hadn't been sure how to fill her time. She was great friends with the other sixth-year girls in her dorm, but she had missed out on much over the years from spending so much time with her no-longer best friend. She hadn't been happy, either. She only went about her days, adhering to her prefect duties, completing her work, doing her best, ignoring the fact that some people looked down on her because she was a Muggleborn, and ignoring James Bloody Potter, of course. Lily stopped skipping and slapped her forehead, then kept walking. Why must he so rudely interrupt her train of thought? Anyway, she had had no choice but to let life pass by while she couldn't get much enjoyment out of it. Now, she could show her peers what _did_ make her happy and that she was talented at it.

* * *

><p>Lily was walking with Emmeline Vance, Hestia Jones, Dorcas Meadowes, Marlene McKinnon, and Alice Prewett from their last class that day. They were nearing the courtyard and lingered in the corridor right next to the big, green open space.<p>

"So, how do you think you did on that Defense Against the Dark Arts exam today, Lily?" Marlene asked. Lily smiled.

"I thought it was easy, and I got an _Outstanding_, but I was having a bit of trouble defending against the _Black_ arts trying to copy off me," she joked. The girls giggled lightly and Dorcas chuckled loudly.

"Lily Evans, only you would completely ignore the obvious pun on Sirius Black's first name and go for the much less obvious one on his last name. You, my friend, are a creative genius." Lily flashed her pearly-whites sweetly.

"I know," she squeaked with mock pride. More giggles erupted from the group as they passed through the entrance to the courtyard and sank by one of the trees, basking in the sun that had decided to peek out on this September day. Hestia and Emmeline rolled up their sleeves and laid out with their palms facing upward with their eyes closed. Alice shook her head.

"Honestly? Why would you even _try_ tanning at this time of year?" she asked, snorting and shaking her head.

"Because, dear Alice," Hestia said with a low, sophisticated voice as she lowered pretend shades from her eyes and piercing her friend with her bright, gold stare, "if you make no attempt at tanning, you aren't a real woman." She placed the fake shades back on her eyes and folded her hands behind her head, eyes closed toward the blue sky once more. Dorcas, Alice, Marlene, and Lily looked at one another and burst into laughter.

"So, you're saying that Lily can't possibly be a real woman? Tanning's dangerous for her," Marlene said between snickers.

"Hey!" Lily socked her in the arm affectionately.

"What, Lil? It is! If you even step out in sun, you turn into a lobster."

"I do not! It takes much longer than that. You're exaggerating."

"I just complimented you on your not-so-obvious Transfigurations genius, you're welcome, and you thank me like that? Merlin's pants, Lily, _thank you_," Marlene said sarcastically, but smiling. Lily snorted and fell back on the grass, squinting up at the clouds. One of them, strangely, looked a lot like Braun…

"EEE!" Lily shrieked as a letter in the form of a large roll of parchment dropped onto her face and Braun landed next to her head and hooted, proud of himself for carrying such a heavy load. Lily chuckled and gazed at his large, happy brown eyes as she dug a treat for him out of her pocket and fed it to him. "Proud of you, Braun, that was incredible," she laughed, ignoring the snickers coming from her friends.

"Really, Lil? You scare too easy," Emmeline laughed. Lily sat back on her elbows and frowned at Emmeline.

"Ba-ha-ha," she said sarcastically. "You'd have thought he was a cloud, too, because it's so bright out here," she fronted, shading her eyes with her hand.

"Lobster," Dorcas coughed. "OUCH!" followed as Lily's hand flew through the air and smacked her in the back of the head. Lily smiled contentedly and unrolled the parchment. She wondered why it was so long, but then she looked inside and understood. Emmy's handwriting had always been rather huge and she tended to talk a lot…

_Dearest Lily Flower Evans,_

_HOORAY! I am UNBELIEVABLY excited that YOU'RE excited about this! I hope you can manage the time to fit it into your schedule because if you join with Johannah and I on this, this show will be quite SPECTACULAR. FANTASTIC. BLOODY AMAZING. People will be begging for MERLIN'S PANTS and growing MERLIN'S BEARD over this show if you join. I've seen you dance before, Lil, and I KNOW you're fantastic! Why didn't you ever teach me how? I've ALWAYS wanted to do that!_

_Anyway, I want you to read this document and destroy it as soon as you're done reading. As you read, look over your shoulder right now to make sure no one's spying! This has to be an absolute SURPRISE. And if you say anything, you may be hearing a stray "AVADA KEDAVRA!"_

_Just joking. But really. Look over your shoulder right now, and make sure no one's looking. _(Lily did.) _Do it. Go on. Now. Is the coast clear? GOOD! Now that no one is listening in rudely on this conversation _(which Lily noted was a bit one-sided)_, I can disclose to you, Lily Flower Evans, the most important information in the history of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Feed on all my words, Lil. Drink them up. ENJOY THEM. BECAUSE, my flower friend, if you do, THIS SHOW WILL BE QUITE_ _SPECTACULAR. FANTASTIC. BLOODY AMAZING. PEOPLE WILL BE BEGGING FOR MERLIN'S PANTS AND GROWING MERLIN'S BEARD OVER THIS SHOW. Did I say that already? Oh, yes, I did. Oh well. Anyway, listen up. _(Bloody hell, could that girl talk!)

_This show is going to be a revue. It'll be a showcase of mostly dancing, with SOME singing thrown in. You don't have to sing if you don't want to, because I remember you once mentioning to me that you weren't much of a singer _(How right you are, Ponder)_. That's okay. You dance and be pretty, as always. Anyway, the songs I've chosen are from Muggle films that I know many of our students are fond of, except those numpties of the world called Slytherins, who have no clue what they're missing. Some of the songs are: "Cell Block Tango" from the movie __Chicago__, "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from __Grease__, (which I was thinking would be great for YOU to waltz to! Maybe you could get Frank Longbottom to do that! He's always had quite the happy feet, I should say), and many others! We can do ANYTHING we want with this show! McGonagall told you we had her and the teachers' full backing! This is SO EXCITING!_

_Anyway, life calls. I really must run. But write back to me that you can or can't meet with Johannah and myself in the library tonight at 10:00. I know that's after curfew, but I've gotten notes from McGonagall that excuse us for being out of bed then, yours is enclosed with this lovely owl of yours (he was so polite, by the way, you should reward him), and I know you know how to sneak into the library, you booky prefect, you. (Wink wink.)_

_And as I've said before, with your help, THIS SHOW WILL BE SPECTACULAR. FANTASTIC. BLOODY AMAZING. People will be begging for MERLIN'S PANTS and growing MERLIN'S BEARD OVER IT._

_Over and out,  
>Emmy Ponder, Director of Said Show<em>

Lily had to work hard as she read through the entire letter to make sure no one was spying and that she read it as passively as she would be reading a chapter in her History of Magic textbook. She, with great difficulty, succeeded in not laughing at Emmy's personality and wit. She really did want it to be a surprise up until the auditions, and not seem suspicious to her friends' eyes, which she now realized had been watching for several minutes now.

"What's it say, Lily?" Alice asked.

"Oh, it's…nothing. It's from my mum. Petunia's antics, again," she lied. They bought it and rolled their eyes.

"That girl never runs out of any, does she?" Marlene asked knowingly. Lily pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Never. Oh, shoot. I left something up in the dorm. Listen, I'll catch up with you all at dinner, okay? Happy Thursday!" she said, letting Braun hop onto her forearm and hurrying out of the courtyard, not stopping to let her friends say anything. They were too busy lazing about, anyway, Lily noted, thankful.

She stopped in at the Owlery again, and let Braun off her arm to visit with some of his friend as she scribbled,

_Emmy, _

_You're a genius. See you and Jo tonight at 10. _

_Sincerely,_

_Lily Sneaky-Stealthy Evans_


	2. The Conniving

Lily's roommates, Hestia, Dorcas, Marlene, Alice, Emmeline, and Mary MacDonald, had already gone to sleep when she popped one eye open and glanced at the clock. 9:45. She had fifteen minutes. Rousing from her fake sleep, Lily went to work. She slid out from under her covers and slipped into the moccasins at the foot of her bed while pulling on a large, dark green grand-dad sweater that fell to the middle of her upper legs over her t-shirt and leggings. Lily braided her long, wavy, auburn hair down her back quietly and stuck a headband in it, grabbed her wand and small backpack which held quills, McGonagall's note, and parchment, and headed out the door.

"Lumos," she whispered. It was unusually dark in the common room that night. _Fire must've gone out,_ she thought. Lily tiptoed down the stairs to the girls' dorms, the light from her wand moving with her and her companion-like shadow as she sneaked out. When the descent ended, she moved quickly along the common room floor, until…

"Evans?" a sleepy voice murmured. Lily gasped quietly and froze, feeling paranoia and chills press in on all sides of her. Her skin crawled, and her heart leapt up to her throat. She swallowed it back down as she shut her eyes tightly and pressed her lips together even tighter.

_Shoot. Shoot me now. I'm caught. Oh, wait, I've got a note from McGonagall. I'm safe._ Lily relaxed and pointed her wand at the source of the sound. A sleepy-looking, messy-haired, bespectacled boy was propping himself back on his elbows on the red sofa, rubbing his eyes and looking right at her. His lips weren't without the trace of a signature smirk that she knew far too well. Her jaw dropped. _SHOOT!_

"Potter."

"What are you doing?"

"None of your business." A bit of light from her wand didn't fail to catch the green and gold streaks in his hazel eyes as they brightened with mischief.

"Are you sure? I'm a good Gryffindor, you know. I don't want you getting our house further from the House Cup." Lily snorted.

"Sure, Potter. _Good_ Gryffindor. You. Riiiiight," she said, backing away towards the Portrait Hole.

"Whoa there, Tiger Lily," he smirked, getting up and advancing toward her slowly. He was definitely awake now.

_Great._ He came toward her slowly, and she backed up further. He was staring at her, and she started to feel uncomfortable under his thoughtful gaze. _Come on, Lily, RUN! Who is he, McGonagall? You shouldn't be afraid of him._ Her leg swung back to obey her brain's order, but suddenly James was only inches away from her. Lily had an idea. She clearly had Potter spellbound for some reason. If she could keep him that way, then distract him, she could get away and he would never know where she had gone.

"You look lovely by your wandlight," he whispered. Lily's skin began to crawl again.

_NO! Bad Lily, Potter DOES NOT, under any circumstances, give you shivers. Now, employ your sneakiness. _Lily obeyed her own orders and allowed him to touch her wrist, lowering her wand to her side, pretending to be completely caught up in his observation. She noticed how his eyes softened as they focused only on her and tried not to relish in the feel of his callused fingers on her skin.

Lily was still backing them up, toward the Portrait Hole. When she was about five feet away from it, she looked over Potter's shoulder and said sarcastically, "Well, Black, gone to break some more rules?" James looked over his shoulder, and Lily knew she had about five seconds. She turned and dashed away and out the Portrait Hole quietly, darting down the corridor. About ten seconds out of the portrait hole, Lily stopped and listened. _The portrait hole was opening. _

Lily looked around her fast. There was nowhere to hide. "Shoot!" she whispered. The sound of running footsteps were starting to pound on the corridor floor. She back up behind the wall and did the only thing she knew to do. In the dark corridor, Potter would never notice. She shut out the light on her wand, stood against the wall, and muttered the only Transfiguration incantation she knew she could do well.

Lily looked with her statue eyes over herself. She was a suit of armor, and she had done the spell correctly! _Ha! Maybe I won't fail Transfigurations after all! _She desperately hoped that Potter, with his perfect Transfigurations grades, wouldn't notice anything different between her and the other suits of armor as he padded into the corridor, looked around for a few moments, then gave up and headed back to the portrait hole. Lily made one step with her foot and was herself again, her green eyes peering around the corner. He had climbed back in. "Phew," she whispered, lighting her wand again and continuing quickly to the library. That little hold-up had taken ten minutes out of her time.

At ten, she caught up with Johannah and they sneaked into the library when she realized something. Every time Potter saw her over the past few years, he'd ask her out. This time, he hadn't. Or, maybe, she hadn't given him the chance to.

* * *

><p>"Wow, Em. This sounds <em>amazing<em>. How in the world do you have so many great ideas?" Johannah cooed over Emmy's diagram that she'd already drawn up. Lily followed the ideas running around in her head and furiously jotted them down, getting a look of approval from Emmy every now and then. Emmy tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"I don't really know, Jo, it just comes to me," she said, smiling with her kind brown eyes.

They had discussed practice times, set design (which would require the help of a few good Transfigurers), and had gotten down to choosing the songs. There was the two that Emmy had mentioned in her letter, along with several pop songs that would be good to dance to, and a few solo songs, where there would be either dancing or singing or a little of both. Many of the songs were from Muggle movie musicals.

Then they had a short and fond discussion over the prospect of the entire school about seventh-year Gryffindor Katherine Barlow's talent, not only vocally but in dancing, and her sparkling personality. The three exchanged looks with each other that said they would be so glad to work with her in the show.

After this, they had gotten a little sidetracked by the Quidditch match this weekend. Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw, and Emmy expressed her difficulty in choosing who to root for.

"They're both such great houses," she sighed sadly. "If either were playing Slytherin, it's be obvious who I was cheering for. I hate Slytherins. They're so rude." Lily and Johannah nodded in agreement.

"I know, Em. All that pure-blood crap really gets to people's heads, doesn't it?" Lily nodded, recounting how awful all the Slytherins were to her. Except Se-S-Snape, she thought, then corrected herself, remembering that they were no longer friends. Emmy and Johannah saw the light in her eyes from previous excitement for the show go off. "Oh, Lily…"

"Lily, you shouldn't worry about him. Not one bit. He's not worth your worries," Emmy said firmly. Lily half-smiled, resting her head on her hand.

"Clearly, he isn't. Thanks, Em. How'd you know what I was thinking?" Emmy patted her hand.

"Because that look in your eyes just now was the same look we saw the moment he said that to you."

"Which was...?"

"I don't know _what_, Lil, I only know what it _looks like_," Emmy giggled. Lily chuckled, along with Johannah.

"So…how does no one find out we're in here?" Johannah whispered. The only light the three girls had was burning from a few candles on the table. The room was so quiet that it seemed more like the office of a dictator than a library. At least during the day in here, Lily could hear the soft murmurs of working students, quills scratching, pages turning, Madam Pince shushing or fussing frequently, a cheesy pick-up line coming from Potter at any random moment…

Lily flicked herself in the forehead. Now _she_ was getting as annoying as he was. That arrogant, bullying toerag…

"What have you got there, Lil?"

"What?"

"Emmy just asked what's on your parchment there," Johannah giggled. Lily tuned back in to the conversation regarding the show and pushed her parchment down the table for Johannah and Emmy to look at.

"Oh, Merlin, Lily. This is amazing! For which number?" Johannah asked.

"Cell Block Tango. Although, that one will be a bit more difficult. We're going to need six hot guys for the six merry murderesses to use as 'props.' And we are definitely not making this number too raunchy, but it'll be good without all that," Lily mused excitedly.

"You can say that again," Emmy breathed. Lily opened her mouth but Emmy looked up and pointed a finger in her direction. "Don't, actually." Lily closed her mouth and giggled inside it.

"Anyway, Emmy, since there are so many speaking parts in this song, you wanted our participants to sing this one, right?" Emmy nodded. "Right. Then we're going to need to audition them for singing, too. Speaking of auditions…"

A conversation sprung forth about the auditions. They would be held a week and a half from now in the Great Hall. Lily would be in charge of half the dance auditions and Johannah the other half, and she and Johannah agreed to work on dances together every night they could until the auditions. All three of them would judge the singing auditions, and Emmy would have to observe every person's behavior to determine how good they were at acting. Not that much acting would be required, but some display of emotion would be needed, of course.

"I'm guessing that this means 'yes,' Lils?" Emmy asked, smiling. Lily grinned.

"Most definitely."

* * *

><p>Luckily, Lily hadn't run into anyone on the way back to her dorm when she'd gotten back in around 11:53. Potter had gone back upstairs, she observed thankfully. She didn't bother to peel off her sweater as she climbed into bed, grateful that she'd already done all her homework weeks ago and that the Charms test was on something she'd read many times over the last year. Lily smiled to herself as she drifted to sleep peacefully, excited for the show. She and Johannah would start choreographing all of the numbers tomorrow, starting with the audition numbers. She wondered how difficult it might be to teach Hogwarts students to dance, but McGonagall had set the age limit at third-years and up, so Lily's students would have matured <em>some<em>.

_Lily's students,_ she thought with a goofy twist of her lips. It sounded so…professional, and it gave her a sense of power, more than the power she knew she had over the younger male students at Hogwarts. She saw them looking whenever she walked by and heard them whispering her name to each other after she had passed. She saw them stutter "ma'am" to her when she caught them out of their common rooms after hours. She saw their eyes widen whenever she opened her mouth to speak to them, as if she were an angel that had hand-picked them personally (She had always thought that was absolutely precious. _Ah, silly little kids_, she would think to herself).

Lily told herself to stop thinking for now and go to sleep. Only a few moments later, it seemed, Hestia was dancing all over the room, jumping on everyone's beds and hollering, "FRIDAY-FRIDAY-FRIDAY-FRIDAY-FRIDAY-FRI-I-I-I-I-I-DA-A-A-A-A-Y!"

"Ah, come on, Hest!" Dorcas groaned.

"Give it a rest!" Marlene tried to shout, but squeaked instead. Hestia jumped onto Lily's bed and danced on it, shouting in her face. Lily lost no time in leaping out from under the haven of her covers, wrapping herself around Hestia's legs, and tackling her to the ground, laying across her stomach and pretending to snore. Everyone was chortling frantically except for Hestia, who complained that Lily was too fat and that she was crushing her lungs.

"Were you planning that, Lil?" Alice asked, amazed.

"Of course. You know me and my conniving little mind, Allie," Lily winked sleepily at Alice before Hestia finally managed to push her off.

Half an hour later the seven girls were parading into the Great Hall for breakfast. Lily was at the front of the group with Mary, chatting with her about the invention of the hair-drying charm and how they would just _love_ to be best friends with the unknown genius who had thought of it, when Johannah Caseley caught her eye from the other end of the Gryffindor table. As Lily was sitting down, she looked at Johannah and gave her the "'sup" nod, and Johannah returned the greeting and giggled. Lily laughed through her nose and plopped between Mary and Emmeline.

"Who was that, Lil?" Dorcas asked, buttering her toast.

"Oh, you all know Johannah Caseley? Yep, that was her," Lily said, grabbing a muffin and taking a bit out of it. Lily left as little of an answer as possible, not wanting to ruin the surprise. "So, that Charms test is today, who's ready?" she asked after swallowing the muffin. The girls began to chatter about "Oh, Merlin, the Charms test!" and Lily looked down to butter her toast (and steal some from Marlene). As she lifted her gaze to eat, her eyes darted automatically, without the permission of her will, to a few spaces down the table where the Marauders were sitting.

Black was telling them all some wonderful joke…_Eh, who am I kidding? I'm only being nice._ Pettigrew's voice peaked at the highest pitch in his range as he sniggered at whatever Black could be saying. It probably wasn't even that funny. Pete laughed even louder as he stuffed eight pieces of toast into his mouth, causing little bits of it to fly everywhere. The Marauders' groans of disgust could be heard as they wiped Pete's…ahem, ammunition, off of themselves. Remus began to lecture Pettigrew about why in the name of Merlin's right arm could he not chew with his mouth closed and spare them from torture. Black chuckled and nudged Potter in the rib cage and he jolted slightly on contact and rubbed his ribs. And Lily now realized why the slightest nudge had had such an impact on him.

He'd been looking at her. Their eyes had met for a few seconds, and Lily gave him a look with her green eyes that said, "You'd better _never_ bother me when I'm leaving the Common Room after hours again, or else." And he hadn't shrunk from her threat. He drank every bit of it up, his hazel eyes the subsequent goblet to hers as she poured her warning into him. He seemed almost delighted, as one corner of his lips twitched before Black knocked the wind out of him.

For once, Lily could thank Sirius Black.


	3. The Crush

Right when Transfigurations had ended, Lily had taken a little time in gathering up her things until most of the class had cleared out of the classroom. She had walked up to the woman's desk until she had turned around and seen her standing in front of her, wearing a huge grin.

"Yes," Lily had simply stated. McGonagall smiled.

"Wonderful, Miss Evans! Miss Ponder already told me when the auditions will be and we are announcing it at feast tonight."

"Wonderful, Professor McGonagall," Lily remarked, her smile growing. "Have a nice day." Now Lily sat in the library during her free period, racing through her work with more vigor than usual, so she could get it done quickly and thoroughly to have time for choreographing with Johannah tonight and the rest of the weekend. They were certainly going to be busy, if they wanted to get a lot done. Since the dances would include tap dancing, ballet, jazz, ballroom, womanly attitude-type choreography, interpretive dancing, and generally cheesy moving, they would need several audition pieces, but could find a way to cram many of the types into one number so they could keep the number of dances learned to about three or four. Wouldn't want to overwhelm anyone with big hopes and bigger feet, now, would they?

The auditions were going to be split into two days to fit everyone for dancing one day and singing the second day. That way, everything was more efficient, the students would have enough time for homework, and Johannah, Emmy, and Lily wouldn't be too stressed. The main problem would be teaching everything to the students. Would they find it difficult? Easy? Both? There were many questions running on Lily's train of thought, but they could only be answered by the turnout at the auditions. So, along with worrying about her grades, she had to worry about the capabilities of Hogwarts students, too. Wonderful.

Refusing to worry about it now, she chose to be productive instead. Lily dug into her Potions homework about the Draught of Living Death while simultaneously studying for Transfigurations and also sketching diagrams of choreography that would pop into her brain at any moment. Her hands turning pages and writing were moving so fast and her concentration was so determined to get through her multitasking that the world around her disappeared until two hands settled on her shoulders, making her jump and gasp a little. "Eek!" she squeaked as the quill dropped from her fingers, thankfully quiet enough to escape the sharp ears of Madam Pince.

Warm breath tickled her ear. "Calm down, Tiger Lily. You were working so fast a moment ago I thought you might be having a heart attack." Lily's eyes turned into slits and her jaw clenched. _Potter._ She shrugged his hands off her shoulders roughly and whipped around in her chair to face him.

"For the love of Merlin, Potter, you broke my streak! I had the most amazing multitasking session happening here until you scared me right out of it!" she hissed, annoyed. She huffed and went back to work. Potter didn't leave, though. Instead, he chuckled and sank into the chair across from her. She raised an eyebrow, her quill poised over her parchment. "Do you mind? I'm working."

Potter relaxed back in his chair and smirked. "Not at all, you could never bother me."

"But you're bothering me."

"Isn't that what I do best, sweetheart?"

"Don't call me that." Lily looked away from him and focused on her books once more, hoping that if she ignored him he would go away.

"So, Evans, what _were_ you doing out so late last night?" For once, Lily allowed herself to smirk.

"I would hardly call 10:00 that late, Potter."

"You know the rules, Evans, don't change the subject in our conversations. What were you doing?" he prodded, raising his eyebrows. His hazel eyes twinkled with amusement behind his glasses. Lily narrowed her eyes and didn't answer the question, but continued to work. "Were you running off to catch someone snogging or have a snog yourself?" he teased after a moment of silence.

Lily's quill clattered onto the table as she felt the strong urge to slap him. In the library, however, she didn't want to get into trouble. She lowered her voice from what would have been a squeal to a fierce whisper.

"You're disgusting, Potter! I most certainly was _not_ sneaking out for a snog, first of all, and second, it's no business of yours what I was doing last night!"

"Fine. Then let's play 20 Questions, all right, Evans?" James said teasingly. Lily buried her face in her hands and grumbled hexes against him under her breath. "I'll go first," he said. "Why the bloody hell are you so desperate to work in here right now? It's Friday, after all. The next few classes we have haven't got a thing going on in there today."

"Because, _Potter_, I'm a very busy woman. I need as much time to finish everything I can as possible." James leaned over the table and looked at her Potions and Transfigurations work. His jaw dropped and he was obviously attempting with all of his might not to chuckle.

"Is that the Potions work Slughorn assigned for two weeks from now? And McGonagall's homework for the same time?" he asked, thinking it was a most ridiculous thing to be doing.

"Don't judge me because I'm a good student, Potter," Lily fired back. James held his hands up defensively. "Yes, it is, and as I said, I'm a very busy woman, so I need to get this done. If you're so frantic about knowing why I was out late last night and why I'm working right now, then you'll have to wait until the feast tonight to find out. And if you claim to be such a 'good Gryffindor,'" she said, packing up her things and getting up from the table, "then you should know that patience is a virtue, and you can wait until then, I'm sure." With that, Lily gave him the slightest wink as she confidently exited the library and disappeared to go to Potions.

* * *

><p>James Potter had never been one to give up easily. He could easily guess he'd proven that to Lily Evans, but was that such a good thing? Would his determination make her fall in love with him? Probably not by now, in their sixth year at Hogwarts.<p>

But how could he possibly give up on her? Lily Evans was the most amazing girl to walk the earth, and he'd never question it.

She was smart and determined, so he knew she would never be the type of person to sit around all their life without making something out of what they were given. Nope, Lily Evans was going to do great things. He knew it and so did everyone who knew her.

Lily was also clever and witty, well, when she could be distracted from burying her nose in a book long enough to crack a joke. He saw the way her friends loved her because she always knew exactly what to say, what joke to tell, or what to do to put them in a better mood. His world warmed around him whenever he happened to catch a glimpse of her laughing or smiling with her friends, which was quite often, thank Merlin. It was that part of her that he decided at some point he liked the most. She was so incredibly caring and kind that it made people feel better to simply be in her presence because it was outwardly her life's goal to see the good in the people who couldn't see it in themselves.

But that had gotten her so hurt by her best friend this past spring. If he hadn't hated Snape enough by the end of their fifth year on that awful day for Lily, then he hated him even more now for doing that to her. To even have her kindness was a wonderful thing; to have her close friendship was even better, and he'd rejected it in one sentence.

"_I don't need help from filthy mudbloods like her!"_

James shuddered at the memory of it. Then again, thinking back on his own actions that day, he hadn't exactly made it easy for her either by hexing her best friend and then asking her out in front of everyone. Maybe…he ought to apologize to her.

He'd carried these thoughts with him down the stairs from his dorm late last night, unable to sleep. A few minutes after settling himself on the couch, however, he'd been fairly able to conk out. He thought he was seeing an angel when he was awaken by the light of Lily's wand not long after.

She really did look lovely by her wandlight. It made her bright, beautiful green eyes pop out at him in the dark, but never in a scary way. Her eyes held a note of kindness and grace, no matter who she was speaking to. Even if it happened to be him and they carried a trace of cold exasperation. Merlin, Lily was beautiful. He'd gotten too engrossed in this when he'd really been trying to take that once-in-a-lifetime chance to talk to her alone, apologize, even. He'd come across that one by chance, now he'd have to work much harder at it.

Which he'd also failed to do in the library today. He was actually quite fascinated at Lily's diligence in her work, even on a Friday with hardly any classes left that day. _She'll do great things_, he remembered. Apparently, he was very bad about reverting back to James-Potter-the-prat mode. At least he'd find out what she'd been up to last night at dinner tonight.

_Curious, that is,_ he thought. What _had_ she been doing that night? He didn't _think_ she was seeing anyone right now, anyway…was she? He really hoped she wasn't. Otherwise he might have a few choice hexes to use.

"Oi, Prongs!" Sirius called from the boys' dormitory stairs.

"What's up, Padfoot?" James shouted back from his resting place on the couch in the common room.

"Come on, mate, I'm starving. It's time for this chowhound to chow down. _Now._" He stopped his rhyming train, pleased with himself, looking extremely smug. James snorted into his hand, stifling an exasperated laugh.

"Out of all the fantastic dog rhymes in the world, you come up with _that_ one?" he said, shaking his head.

"I'm _hungry_, Prongs. How do you expect me to rhyme well on an empty stomach?" Sirius pouted, petting his grumbling stomach. "Don't worry, darling, you'll be full soon," he said to it. James stood up and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Come on, Padfoot, let's get some food in you before you go even more insane!" he said excitedly. Remus and Peter were already at the Gryffindor table, Peter stuffing his face as usual, Remus watching him under eyebrows narrowed, having lost his appetite. James and Sirius sat down and tried not to look at Peter while they ate. When the Great Hall had filled up, Dumbledore tapped his fork on his goblet and stood up to address the population.

"Good evening, students. I trust that everyone has had a wonderful week filled with the best kind of learning one can have here at Hogwarts," he said, earning a few questioning looks from many students.

"I have an announcement. Recently, interest in student-produced entertainment has been expressed to the Head Boy and Girl, who have expressed it to myself, and I am pleased to announce that we will have such entertainment in the form of a revue of sorts, of famous songs from Muggle movies and popular tunes that you all surely hold very dear. The show is to take place later this term and is being headed and directed by Miss Emelia Ponder of Hufflepuff," he said, gesturing to Emmy and motioning her to stand, "and will be co-choreographed by Miss Lily Evans of Gryffindor," most of the Hall began cheering when Lily stood up and flashed a winning smile to her fans, "and by Miss Johannah Caseley of Gryffindor." Tiny Johannah stood up and smiled with a small wave of her fingers.

"There will be a dancing audition for this showcase one week after this Wednesday, and a singing audition on the following day. The Hogwarts staff wishes the best of luck to the director, choreographers, and the participants. Continue eating." James chuckled as Lily's friends pounced on her with questions and praise when she sat back down. Their compliments made her blush and smile.

"That sounds interesting," Remus commented, finally getting up the courage to pluck a few legs of chicken from a platter. "I didn't know Lily could dance."

"Oh, that's what that means?" Sirius asked. "I was about to say…what the bloody hell is a choreographer?" He chuckled at his own ignorance.

"Padfoot, a choreographer is someone who can dance very well and is very good at making up dances. In shows like the one we're going to have, the choreographer puts all the dances together," Remus informed. Sirius nodded.

"Right. Are there lots of girls involved?" James and Remus slapped their foreheads.

"Usually," James grumbled, shaking his head.

"Okay, then, that settles it! Guys, I'm going to those auditions," Sirius said excitedly, clapping his hands together and continuing to eat. "Are you, Prongs?"

"I don't think I'll have a lot of time for it, Padfoot. I've got lots of Quidditch and school, you know."

"Whatever you say. But that means I'll have an advantage over you on Evans," he said, winking in Lily's direction. James dropped his chicken in surprise.

"You _WHAT,_ Padfoot?" he gasped. The other three Marauders laughed loudly.

"I'm only messing with you, Prongs. You keep telling me you've given up. After that little demonstration, I say _codswallop,_" Sirius said, almost accusingly but teasingly at the same time.


	4. The Choice

Lily and Johannah had been working since 8:00 the previous night in a spare classroom with permission from Professor McGonagall. "Okay," Lily mused, pacing around the room, rubbing her face with exhaustion from the past six hours. She and Jo had been on a roll the very minute they started, and were determinedly finishing choreography of the audition dances. The sooner those could be finished, the sooner they could start choreography for the actual numbers. Now it was around two on Saturday morning, and Lily and Jo were not questioning going up to bed without finishing choreography for the "Cell Block Tango" audition.

"Okay, Jo, I was thinking we should start this audition at the end of Velma's monologue and carry it through her chorus, and stop there. That should be enough, right?" Lily contemplated. Johannah seemed to barely catch what she was saying and nodded herself awake.

"Right. That sounds perfect. So, show me what you've got for the audition for this number."

"Okay. Well, we start the music at 'It wasn't until later, when I was washing the blood off my hands I even knew they were dead,' and with your right foot tipped back like this," she told Jo, slapping her right knee for emphasis and touching the floor behind her with the tips of her right toes. "That leaves room for you to _step, passé, step-step, step, passé, cha-cha-cha_…"

Lily taught Johannah the moves, steps, more passés, flicks, points, pivots, and more, for fifteen minutes and they used up another half hour to perfect everything. Finally Lily yawned uncontrollably. "Er…hey, Jo, let's just finish the rest later, okay?" Jo nodded, agreeing as enthusiastically as one could at 2:45 in the morning. Johannah could hardly stand up straight, so Lily ordered her onto her back and carried her all the way to the common room, ignoring the slight snoring in her ear with a chuckle once she climbed up into the portrait hole and into the common room.

"Johannah…Jo." Lily reached around and flicked the back of Johannah's head. Johannah nearly fell off Lily's back as she jolted awake. Lily giggled. "Jo, I'm putting you down now, okay? You have to walk into your dorm." Jo mumbled something that sounded like "okay," so Lily gently set her on her feet and took the backpack from her shoulders. Johannah walked ahead in a dream-like state, tripping on the first step up and face-planting on the staircase.

"Ugh," Lily shook her head and groaned, wrapping one of Johannah's arms around her shoulder and using her other arm to support her back. "Come on, Jo. Let's get to bed." Lily dragged Johannah up the stairs to the fifth-year girls' dorms, where Johannah was able to climb into bed herself. Lily chuckled lowly and sneaked into her own dorms to gratefully crash into bed. Before she did, though, she almost swore she heard three voices down in the common room, grumbling to each other things such as "Agh, my neck," "Bloody hell, he did that to you," or "Oi, Wormy, keep walking. We're not in the dorm yet." But when she peeked out, whoever it was had gone to bed.

Breakfast came too early. Lily was rather rudely awaken by Mary, which ended in Lily being so sleepy that she dragged Mary into her bed, thinking she was her pillow. _That_ ended, however, when Dorcas dumped water on them both. Lily, wide awake, ran laps around the dorm after Dorcas and got some of the water on her eventually. Giggling and yawning, Lily showered, dressed comfortably in jeans and a flannel button-down, and sprinted down to the Great Hall to join her friends. They yelped when she bounded into her seat next to Alice.

"Are you guys excited _OR WHAT?_ It's a brand new Saturday, it is, ladies, and today we're gonna have the _best_ Saturday ever! Are you guys hungry? _I_ know I am! Are you guys tired? _I'm not!_"

"Are you sure?" Hestia put in, as freaked out as the rest of the girls at Lily's early morning outburst of energy.

"_Offfff course_ I'm not tired! I love getting up in the mornings because I can! You know, some animals get up at _night_. How silly is that? Morning _rules!_"

"But Lily…you've _never_ been a morning person…calm down, you're scaring us," Marlene said tentatively.

"_Scaring you?_ Oh, please, I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life! You're scared because I'm talking? You know what? All of you scare _way_ too easily. I really ought to be pulling more of those jump-out-from-nowheres on you all," Lily said, finally stopping to take a bite into her toast and chuckling. On either side of her, Alice and Emmeline looked at one another with wide eyes, nodded, and simultaneously clapped their hands on the back of her head. Lily sputtered and downed a whole goblet of pumpkin juice. She swallowed hard and looked at the blank stares of her friends.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Lil, you really _are_ exhausted, aren't you?" Emmeline asked, her voice holding a note of concern.

Lily nodded, calmly, at that. "Drained."

"How late were you up last night?" Mary asked. Lily winked at her friends.

"I'd say 'till three just to be safe."

"THREE?" the girls asked together.

"Lily, you've got to sleep! Promise me you'll never stay up that late again," Alice begged. Lily scowled and stood up from the table, backing up a few steps and eying her friends.

"Oh, yeah? If I weren't up at three in the morning, _this _wouldn't have happened." Lily then did an impressive and graceful jazz combo, ending with a double pirouette and landing with a stomp on her left foot. Her friends gaped at her and burst into applause. Lily curtsied and sat down. "Thank you very much," she stated before collapsing into giggles with them. "It's a Hogsmeade day, isn't it?" she asked. Alice nodded. "Yes. Now I can actually go this time. I finished a ton of homework yesterday!" Lily said happily.

* * *

><p>"Mary. Mary. Mary! MAAAARRRYYYY…MARE!" Lily exclaimed in her oblivious friend's ear. Mary jumped eight inches.<p>

"Merlin's beard, Lily, don't sneak up on me like that!" Mary said, burying her eyes back in the shelf at Honeydukes. Lily laughed loudly.

"I wasn't sneaking, Mare, you were occupied, is all…"

"Shhh!"

"What?" Mary stared into a shelf as though it was her prey and she was ready to pounce on it.

"Be quiet, Lil. He'll know I'm here."

"Who will? What are you…" Lily's voice trailed off as she peered through the space in the shelves that had Mary so captivated. "Hmm," she sang quietly, mischief painting her tone. "Noah Edevane. Excellent choice," she winked at Mary, eying the brown-haired, light-skinned, grey-eyed, nice-looking sixth-year Ravenclaw. "Not horribly thick, either, he is."

Mary socked Lily in the shoulder playfully. "Oh, please, Lily. As if your lover's not all of those things." Lily gave her a questioning look. "You know who I'm talking about, Lil."

"I do?"

"That Potter of course!" Mary said a little too loudly.

"Shhh, Mary! Don't start spreading rumors around the school here! He's _not_ my…what did you say?" Lily grabbed Mary's arm and squeezed it to calm her down. Mary wrenched her arm free of Lily's grasp and smiled smugly at her.

"_Lo-ver_," she said teasingly. Lily kicked her in the foot.

"He is _not_, Mary, you know I hate him. Why would you say something like that?"

"So I can kid you and get you off the subject of me and my ogling eyes." Lily stared at her for a moment, lips tight together, trying not to laugh. It won over, however, and laughter blasted from both girls' lungs. They exited the store past several students who were wondering why they were laughing so hard and leaned against the outside window, giggling furiously. A few minutes later, and with her stomach begging her to stop laughing, Lily threw an arm around Mary and messed up her hair.

"You're all right, you know that, Mare?" she said affectionately.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry for teasing you about Potter in there. I know you don't particularly enjoy his company," Mary said smiling apologetically at Lily. Lily grinned.

"_That's_ an understatement. Don't worry about it, Mary. Two more years of this and I'll never have to see him again," she chatted.

"I really think you should give him a chance, though, Lily," Mary said quietly as they walked along to meet up with the girls in the Three Broomsticks. Lily jumped away and held her fists up.

"Oh, no! He's put you under the Imperius curse! What's your favorite jam?" she bellowed teasingly. Mary chuckled.

"It's marmalade, Lily, you know that."

"Aw, not you too! Everyone I know tells me I should give him a chance, because (a) I've got his attention, and (b) I quote, 'He's _James Potter_, Lily, why would you pass that up?'" she squeaked in the too-familiar swoon of many Hogwarts girls that fawned over James Potter. "I've heard that way too many times, Mary, don't you tell it to me, please."

Mary laughed. "I was only going to say you should give him a chance as a person, Lil. He's not as bad as he used to be, really. Have you noticed he hasn't hexed anyone for the fun of it in a long while?"

Lily shrugged. "Can't say I have, really. Wasn't paying attention." They entered the Three Broomsticks as Mary sighed, faking annoyance, and sank down at a table where Emmeline, Hestia, Dorcas, and Marlene were sitting. Alice was, no doubt, off somewhere spying on Frank Longbottom.

"You'll never guess what I heard," Marlene leaned over and whispered everyone.

"What?" Lily asked softly.

"Well, for one thing, Lil, Snape's at a table over there and he's staring," she said out of the corner of her mouth. Lily's eyes darted in the direction Marlene had pointed, and sure enough, there was Snape, staring right at her. Her eyes widened before they narrowed on him, giving him a clue to mind his own business. He paid no attention, though, and kept looking, so Lily huffed and turned back to her friends. She really wanted to leave to escape his unyielding gaze, but was determined not to let him ruin her fun.

"No _way_," Mary was saying.

"Huh?" Lily asked, having missed the other half of what Marlene said.

"Everyone's talking about the show, Lily. Apparently they're all really excited for the auditions and they're even more excited that you're choreographing it." Lily sat back in her chair and smirked.

"What, so everyone's excited to be taking direction from me on their dancing, which is mainly what this show will consist of? Excellent. I shouldn't be surprised, though. I know they all just think I'm hot," she said with fake pride. The girls giggled.

"Only you can make fun of yourself by acting arrogant, Lily. You should quit choreography and go straight into comedy," Emmeline teased. Lily grinned.

"You know me! The flower who could tell jokes, too. I'm a rare talent," she said with a dramatic wink. Madam Rosmerta came by then and placed six butterbeers in front of them. They thanked her and paid before clinking their glasses together.

"To Lily, the wonderful co-choreographer and dance captain of this amazing show!" Hestia said.

"How'd you know I'm dance captain?" Lily inquired.

"You talk in your sleep," Dorcas reminded her.

"Oh, yeah," Lily chuckled.

"To Lily!" the girls chimed in, taking swigs of the warm, delicious drink.

"Who all did you hear talking about it?" Lily asked Marlene, wiping some foam off her mouth. Marlene looked at Dorcas.

"Well, just about everyone, Lily. I've heard it in the halls today, at breakfast today, in the stores today, just about anywhere there were Hogwarts students, they were talking about it and about you," Dorcas beamed. Lily smiled.

"Good or bad?" she asked mysteriously, sipping her butterbeer.

"Mostly good, except for those snotty fourth-year girls, of course. All because they think they have rights to James Potter," Dorcas said quietly.

Lily choked on her drink. "What does _Potter_ have to do with my dance captaincy?" she coughed, not wanting to know but dying to ask.

"Don't really know, but I heard them talking about it," Dorcas shrugged, grinning shrewdly. Lily cleared her throat, finally able to breathe, and shook her head.

"Meadowes, you're just too much. You worry me sometimes."

"Anyway, Kate Barlow was talking about it too," Dorcas offered. Lily sat up immediately, her chair sliding backward and nearly tumbling out from under her before she caught her balance.

"Oh, I _so _hoped she was auditioning! We could really use someone with her talent in the show!" she said enthusiastically.

"There she goes again, seeing so much good in the human population. Lily the talent scout, everyone!" Emmeline dramatically motioned to Lily as she spoke. Lily nodded her head professionally.

"Right. 'Scuse me for the little outburst of this chair, ladies. I promise I'm a trained expert from now on." As the girls bent over with laughter, Lily found herself laughing with them. She really was much more excited about this show, due to the thirst to prove herself. She _could_ do something amazing with this show along with Jo and Emmy. She just needed the right participants. And, hopefully, Potter would steer clear of her working area.

* * *

><p>James, Sirius, and Remus wandered around Hogsmeade, having already stocked up enough on Zonko's supplies and sweets from Honeydukes, and were looking around for Pete.<p>

"How're you feeling, Moony?" Prongs asked as they were passing the Three Broomsticks, remembering last night's nasty full moon encounter. Remus shrugged.

"All right, Prongs. Not great, but good enough to be up and around. Madam Pomfrey did a wonderful job on healing me this time around. I hope she keeps it up like this. Sorry about your arm, by the way, I wasn't...I don't think too well, you know, I...you know," he said sheepishly.

"Moony, you worry too much. Prongs can withstand _anything_. Even a full-size werewolf!" Sirius said, jerking James' sleeve up to lok at the long slash on the underside of his arm. He winced. "Erm...don't worry, Prongs. It makes you look more manly. Maybe you should sport it around, you know, pride yourself in it."

James rolled his sleeve back down and shrugged. "Then there would be people asking about it, Padfoot. Can't have that."

They passed Madam Puddifoot's, grimacing slightly at the place, and overheard the chatter of Lily's group of friends, which was absent of Lily herself. James at first wondered why she wasn't with them, but remembered seeing her around with Mary MacDonald.

"Can you believe Lily's taking on all that work with making up every last dance in the show? I heard there will be _at least_ twenty-five numbers to do!" Emmeline exclaimed.

"Bloody hell, Em, you're not serious, are you?" Marlene inquired.

"No, I'm Emmeline. Sirius is somewhere else around here, I think." James, Remus, and Sirius, all overhearing the too-familiar pun on Sirius' first name, snorted as they stopped to look like they were talking amongst themselves and listened to the rest of the conversation. They rolled their eyes as all the girls giggled at Emmeline's joke. "But really, Mars, I mean that. Lily's going to have an awful lot on her hands for a while."

"At least she's working with Johannah. She said they'd divide and conquer on most of the songs and work together on others. So she won't be completely swamped," Dorcas pointed out. The murmurs that could be heard next were the girls' general agreements.

"I'm so happy for her. You see how she always lights up when it's time to dance. She's good at it, too. I, ah…may or may not have peeked at Emmy's notes and noticed that Lily's going to have lots of dance time herself, too. She even gets to waltz!" Hestia said excitedly.

"Who with?" most of the girls asked elatedly. Hestia shrugged.

"'Dunno. Emmy had Frank Longbottom's name with a question mark next to it, though. And she had also scrawled 'can dance' next to it, too." The girls giggled. "But here's the funny part. She wrote down Jake Fennendale as well, because, and I quote, 'he's hot.'" The girls burst into hysterical laughter at that. Sirius, Remus, and James all looked at one another questioningly, raised their eyebrows, not understanding the girlish excitement, and moved away.

"So, everyone seems pretty eager for this show," James commented.

"Of course they are, Prongs. Who wouldn't be eager to see Evans in all those skintight costumes that dancers wear?" Sirius asked his two friends with a wink. Remus slapped his forehead.

"They're called leotards, Padfoot," he sighed. James shook his head, chuckling to himself. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as they shuffled along.

"Whatever, Moony. However, I'm surprised that at the prospect I've just presented of seeing Evans in a '_le-o-tard,'_" he pronounced slowly, annoyed, "Prongs hasn't jumped up to get ready for those auditions yet. Who knows, mate? Prongsie here just might beat out old Longbottom and Fennendale to Evans if he can dance well enough," he said, throwing his elbow up on James' shoulder. The three boys chuckled.

"Funny, Padfoot. I told you, I've already got Quidditch to worry about, and school of course. Besides, even if I were to turn up at those auditions, I'd make a right foolish display of the Marauders. I can't do that to us, Padfoot." James patted the area over his heart to prove his dedication to their group.

"Or even if you showed up and could dance really well, Lily would never even think about letting you touch her," Remus said point-blankly. Sirius snickered. James nodded.

"Yeah, that too. I think I'm just gonna have to settle for being a spectator who can watch her every move," he winked at Sirius, smirking.

"Nice, Prongs!" Sirius whistled as he high-fived his friend. "She can't keep you from doing that!" Remus and James shook their heads.

"Nope," he said, popping the "p."

"Be careful, James. You remember what I've talked to you about. You can't get any bit closer to Lily if you're being arrogant. That's what she called you when she told you that you made her sick, remember?" Remus advised.

"Painfully," James retorted. "I just don't want her to think I'm trying to invade her space or anything. Therefore, I won't be a participant in the show. Genius, isn't it?" he mused, throwing his hands up at the end of his statement so Sirius and Remus could marvel at his logic. Instead, they chuckled and pulled him along to find Pete.

* * *

><p>"Come on, Lily, we've been running for two hours! Can we please stop and call it a day?" Jo panted. She and Lily dashed around the Hogwarts grounds together in a massive workout session before dinner that day. Dancers had to stay in good shape, and for all the work these two would have to be doing in the coming month or so, Lily decided they'd have several massive workout sessions together and more minor sessions on their own.<p>

Lily checked her watch. Merlin, it had been that long already. "Okay, Jo, but we have to cool down first. Slow to a jog and head for the lake." That Saturday, the sun made itself very prominent in the Scotland sky, chasing every cloud away, and it was very warm. Lily whipped out her wand as she slowed down. She cupped her hand and gasped, "_Aguamenti_," then gratefully tossed the water down her throat and splashed the remainder of it on her face. They were passing the Greenhouses and slowed to a power walk. As Lily's lungs eased with her new speed, she swung her arms back and forth, stretching out the muscles, and brought them to rest on her head. "Phew," she breathed, "don't you feel wonderful, Jo?"

"_No_," Johannah complained, slowing even more. "I feel awful, Lily."

"The awful feeling _is _the wonderful feeling, Johannah. You're supposed to feel like that. Exactly how do you feel?"

"Like I need much more than one of Madam Pomfrey's pepper-ups!"

"Excellent." They were finally at the lake, and stopped to stretch. "There, Jo, don't you feel better?" Lily asked, extending an arm around to her other side. Jo didn't answer. "Jo?" Lily turned around. Jo was staring at the lake longingly, licking her chops. She looked at Lily with wide eyes.

"I want to jump in it," she pleaded gently. Lily gazed at the water for a few moments. It really did look quite tempting…

"I'll-race-you-in!" Lily shouted quickly and took off from the tree they stood next to, jumping on a rock and flying through the air before making sweet contact with the cool water on her boiling skin. She had her wand out in case that Giant Squid came along, but for now she opened her mouth underwater and exhaled before surfacing. A splash next to her along with gasping indicated that Jo had jumped in near her.

"Lily! This water is _glorious_!" she said, laying on her back.

"It sure is. And we'd better get out of it, because the grindylows and squids fancy it just as much as we do," Lily sighed. Johannah nodded knowingly and they dog-paddled to the edge and hoisted themselves up. Lily dragged Johannah out and hopped up and down on one foot while hitting the opposite side of her head with the palm of her hand to get the water out. Her shoes squeaked and squished, full of water. Cold toes could not do right now, so she magically dried her feet before they walked, dripping wet, back up to the castle. Lily was glad she'd worn a giant, grey, long-sleeved t-shirt and dark running shorts, otherwise her wet clothes would be too see-through right now. The sun was finally beginning to set, making it slightly colder for the two girls, so they hurried back to the common room, but not before being stopped by the Marauders.

"Whoa, ladies, isn't it a little cold to be sporting _that_?" Black called as they passed. Lily smirked at him.

"And _you_ would know about fashion, Black? Want some advice?" she asked teasingly. Lily grabbed her long ponytail and wrung it at his face, sending droplets of lake water spraying in most of their eyes. She stepped back and chuckled to herself as they wiped it away. "Not bad aim I've got there, don't you think, Jo? Come on." They walked away as Black laughed loudly.

"Am I imagining this, or is Evans actually becoming a threat these days?" he laughed.

"I think she was flirting with you, Padfoot," Remus joked.

"_Hey!_" James said frantically, pausing from wiping the lake water from his glasses to look up at them.

"Oh, sorry, Prongs, I forgot you were still here," Sirius said with a wink. James pouted.

"I saw her first!" he protested. The other two pretended to grumble.

"Bloody hell, Prongs," Remus said, snapping his fingers. "Even without your glasses then you could still see better." James chuckled, please with himself.


	5. The Companion

Remus sat next to Sirius, James, and Peter in Potions the next week, trying to ignore Sirius' mischief and concentrate on Slughorn's lecture. He took down his notes rapidly, pausing every so often to glance about the room or up at the Professor, who seemed all too delighted for the infamous Draught of Living Death. Remus simply shrugged, not as fascinated with Potions as his professor, but knowing it was important for him to do his best in school, especially given his furry little problem. He sighed quietly, but his exhaling was stopped when Peter punched him in the arm lightly. Remus glanced up to see him heading toward their brewing station, along with James and Sirius, who were already there, chuckling to themselves about some joke Sirius had thought up during Slughorn's lecture. He got up and shuffled over to their table.

"Mr. Lupin?" Slughorn's voice floated across the room. Remus strode over to the professor.

"Yes, sir?"

The man clapped a hand onto Remus' shoulder and looked him in the eye, keeping up his manner of "Potions Delight," as some students called his view that Potions class was like a dessert course at feasts consisting of the elves' famous triple-layer chocolate fudge cake.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Lupin, tell me, would you mind switching from your group to work with Miss Evans, over there?" He gestured to Lily's empty brewing station. "Seems she and Mr. Snape have had something of a fallout. She absolutely refused to work with him. I'll put Mr. Diggory with Mr. Pettigrew, if you don't mind?" he commanded more than asked.

Remus looked in Lily's direction with sympathy. Most of her friends had either dropped Advanced Potions or had partners already, and Remus could completely understand her not wanting anything to do with Snape. He looked back at the Professor and nodded. "Sure, Professor Slughorn, I'd be glad to." Determined to cheer her up, or at least get to know a bit more about her mysterious, newly-discovered background, Remus grabbed his things and paced over to her table. "Mind if I work with you? Pete didn't wash his feet this morning," he said to her amiably. Lily grinned and chuckled gently.

"Sure, Remus!" They set to work, gathering and measuring all the correct ingredients before beginning to brew and making conversation with one another.

"So, Lily," Remus said as he set a phial of asphodel in with the stack of ingredients, "Rumor has it that you're a great dancer. Come on, Lily, we've been friends for...six years, is it, and I never knew that about you before." Lily's eyes brightened, as Remus often noted James' would whenever he was ready to talk about Quidditch. She smiled hugely at him and allowed him to hear her giggle softly.

"It's strange, though, isn't it, Remus? I suppose I've never been very good at talking about myself. What would you like to know?"

"How long have you been dancing for?" Lily peeked into the cauldron and crushed some snake fangs.

"My entire life. I love dancing. During classes in Muggle school my feet would always dance automatically without my realizing. That got me into trouble with the teacher sometimes," she added with a nostalgic chuckle. Remus laughed. "Apparently the professors thought it was inappropriate to _time-step_ in one's chair while simultaneously paying attention to the mathematics lesson. _I_, however, commended myself greatly for being so good at multitasking!"

"I'd have commended you, too! I don't remember you doing that much when you got here, though. I might have heard it," he said, winking at her. Lily snickered.

"That's because I didn't. When I found out I was a witch, by no means did I stop dancing, but I focused much more of my time on learning as much as I could about this wizarding world I'd never known about before then. I did the same when I arrived here, and saved my happy feet for my dorm room. All my roommates have known about my dancing experience since they caught me one night during first year. It was kind of embarrassing," she added, looking up from the cauldron sheepishly. Her cheeks had turned the lightest shade of pink at the memory, but she was grinning.

"Oh yeah? What happened?" Remus asked, never thinking Lily Evans one to be easily embarrassed.

"Well, I was working on these moves after I had finished all my homework, and they happened to be the ones where you leap up really high and pose and all that sort of jazz. Mary, Hestia, Dorcas, and Marlene all walked in at the same time. I was just about to jump up when they came in, and I didn't stop, either. I was as high as the top of the beds when I realized they were there, and panicked on my landing, so I slammed right into one of the posts. It hurt," she giggled, rubbing her head where she had hit it all those years ago. Remus snorted, holding back the guffaw that threatened to fill the room. "It's okay, Remus, you can laugh," Lily sighed, sniggering despite herself. Remus did.

"So, what happened after that?"

"Well, they kept up all the necessary 'good friend' standards and freaked out, you know: 'Oh my Merlin, Lily, are you okay? Are you hurt? Euh, that bump looks nasty, let's take you to the hospital wing! Why did you jump at the post like that? See, you got hurt!' All those sorts of normal friendly things," Lily chatted, demonstrating with the different pitches of her voice. Remus snickered. "So then, after confirming that I was okay enough _not_ to go to the hospital wing, I told them. And they were absolutely fascinated and demanded a concert right there." Lily looked up and matched Remus' huge grin with her own.

"That's wonderful, Lily! You must be very talented, then."

"Oh, I don't know..."

"Come on, Lil. You can't be humble right now. You're the ruddy dance captain of the show," he chuckled.

"True," Lily conceded. "Well hey, at least I've choreographed a little before. It's not like I'm in over my head with this whole thing. Oh, wait...I am. Some people here really _don't_ know how to dance, I've discovered." She paused to laugh along with Remus. "I never used to think it was possible for someone to really not be able to dance, but I figured that out with Dorcas after she and the others decided to join me in my late-night dorm dancing. I tell you, she was like an earthworm." Lily sighed, smiling, and shook her head.

Remus laughed loudly, earning the stares of a few classmates, including the jealous eye of Snape. Lily caught his unyielding death glare at Remus and shot him one of her own, which had been known to make him do whatever she wanted while they had been friends. Snape took notice of this and looked away quickly. Lily smirked and turned her attention back to Remus, who was catching his breath.

"Lily, Lily," he breathed, wiping his eyes clean of the tears that had escaped during his bouts of laughter. "Hey, we're learning new things about each other," he began as Lily added wormwood to the cauldron, "I'm learning all about your dancing background, and you're learning how easily entertained I am by people's flaws. Tell me more about dance, though. What kind of dancing do you do?" He straightened up and went back to work cutting beans, which he was finding quite difficult. Lily gently took the blade from his hand and one bean from his pile.

"Here, Remus, crush it instead. It makes the juice flow more easily." She showed him what she was talking about. When she looked up to find him gaping, she jerked her head toward Snape and looked Remus in the eyes. "If there's anything I learned from that lousy prat other than that he's hopeless, it's how to get a better grade in Potions," she added, winking at Remus. Remus nodded and followed her direction. "Anyway, I do all sorts of dance. Tap, jazz, ballet, ballroom, interpretive...well, interpretive's mainly the rocking out that my girls and I do in our dorm on the weekends. But you get the idea, right?"

Remus chuckled and nodded. "That's fantastic, Lil. Which type is your favorite?"

"Ooh, that's difficult. I like ballet because it's elegant, tap because it's complicated and precise, jazz because it's got flair, and ballroom because I learn to depend on someone else to do part of the work and not do it all myself and most importantly, depend on them not to drop me, of course And it's very diverse, as well, so there's always something new to choose from. Difficult decision, it is, to be completely honest. Which of those appeals to you the most?" Lily chatted as she added Remus' bean juice to the draught. Remus shrugged.

"I'm not sure. If I could dance, my favorite of those four would either be ballroom or tap dancing. They sound interesting."

"Can you dance?"

"Me?"

"No, our invisible Potions partner standing next to you," Lily joked charmingly.

"Cute," Remus replied. "Can I dance? I don't know. I've never tried."

"Well then, why don't you see for yourself and try out for the show?" Lily suggested all of a sudden. Remus' eyebrows rocketed upward. He nearly dropped the stirring stick he was picking up.

"Me?"

"Of course not, Remus, I was addressing our invisible Potions partner. What's his name, again?" Lily asked congenially. Remus snickered.

"I don't know, Lily. To both of those questions," he added quickly, averting his eyes to the cauldron where he was carefully stirring.

"Well, why not, Remus? Besides, your friend Black over there's probably going to need someone levelheaded to keep him from going completely nuts at the auditions." Remus looked up at her as soon as he finished stirring.

"How'd you know he's auditioning?" Lily looked to Sirius and James' table sheepishly and lowered her voice.

"All week he's been bragging to me about how I'll go straight to him when it's time for picking partners...and a little more than just dancing, I might add, at the auditions," she said out of the corner of her mouth. "Am I reading into that too much, or is he auditioning?" Remus shook his head.

"Yes, he's auditioning. He was all for it when he discovered that girls like this sort of thing...you know, maybe it is a good idea that I audition, too. Someone's got to keep an eye on him," Remus reasoned, glancing at Sirius, who was unsuccessfully trying to crush snake fangs and sift them into the cauldron. They ended up all over the place instead, and James ended up getting a faceful of the dust in his face and sneezing two or three times, gathering giggles from many girls in the classroom. Remus looked back at Lily. She was not amused. "You know, Lily, you've really got to excuse him...both of them, really." He looked her in the eyes, which did not seem to shift opinions. "They're both great guys, they've just got a lot of room to grow."

"Well," she sighed, changing the subject, "I'd love for you to at least try, Remus. You'd never know if you like it otherwise. It's great exercise and tons of fun. And if you can keep a handle on Black, then that'd be nice too, I suppose." She grinned a bit before looking up at him. He smiled and shook his head. He'd at least tried. He owed James that, at the very least.

"It's ready," he said, noticing the draught turning its correct color. He shut off the flames as Professor Slughorn sauntered over.

"Well, what have we here, Gryffindors? Ah, yes! Perfect, Mr. Lupin and Miss Evans, absolutely perfect! Couldn't have brewed it better myself! I'll see you both at my next Slug Club, then, yes?" Lily's wide eyes met Remus' equally wide ones.

"Ah, erm, well, Professor, as much as we'd like to attend..." Remus began, trailing off at the end.

"I can't, Professor. You see, McGonagall has ordered that I work on choreography then, and Johannah and Emmy will be expecting me, and I promised I'd help Remus. He's a little nervous for the auditions and wants to be prepared," Lily covered quickly. Slughorn nodded understandingly.

"Always busy, aren't we, Miss Evans?" he said cheerily. "Congratulations on that wonderful position, by the way, that's simply delightful! I always did fancy the fine arts! Pray tell me, is that considered dangerous?" Remus winced. Lily raised an eyebrow and answered his question less confidently.

"Erm...no, sir, it's just dancing, sir." She scatched the back of her neck nervously.

"Well, all right then. Good luck to both of you," he said as he sailed away to some other students' tables, leaving a paper marked with an "O" on their table.

"Thanks," they said together with a liberating sigh.

* * *

><p>"Oi, Moony, Padfoot!" James called from the sofa in the common room. He and Pete were playing Exploding Snap while studying for Defence Against the Dark Arts, though it seemed Exploding Snap was becoming a much more attractive option as the night wore on. Remus looked up from his book on the other side of the room and strode over to them with Sirius trailing behind him.<p>

"What's up, Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"Wormtail and I here can't concentrate. Help us?" he asked with weary eyes. Peter nodded vigorously.

"Yes, please do. We can't fail this class," he echoed.

"Sorry, mate, I can't help you right now. I'm busy," Sirius said, his eyes following a seventh-year girl with long, blonde hair.

"Really?" Remus asked him. "Sorry, Prongs, I'm busy, too. Can't fail Charms." He buried his nose back in the book.

"Never mind, I'll just go walk around a bit to get my head on straight." James pushed himself off the couch and rubbed his face, walking toward to prtrait hole out into the corridor.

He forced a polite smile at some twittering girls in a cluster who waved at him and squeaked, "Hi, James!" They giggled as he passed and he exhaled heavily and shook his head. It really did get annoying how they all obsessed over him, but he didn't want to be rude.

_Well, add that to my list of problems today._ Today he and Sirius had been unable to brew a Draught of Living Death, even though he really had been trying to follow the instructions. _Need to get that O_, he kept telling himself. On top of that, he hadn't been able to concentrate in Transfiguration, his very best subject, and couldn't get anything done in the class because he was getting very worn out from preparing for the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw. _I'm the bloody CAPTAIN of the Gryffindor Quidditch team! How am I supposed to do well in school, be wide awake all the time, and devise incredible new plans for our team? Bloody hell, Ravenclaw might even have a chance against us if I keep up like this. _Tonight's practice hadn't gone smoothly, either. Somehow, the Bludgers were extremely attracted to their Beaters, which was great, but not when they were even more propelled towards the stomach of their Seeker.

James turned a corner and grimaced to himself, remembering poor Adley Draycott's repeated attempts to get back in the swing of things after having the wind horribly knocked out of him. He'd been hit twice, badly bruised on the first and ribs cracked on the second. _Thank Merlin for Madam Pomfrey._

James knew it was crunch time for him, and he'd have to focus fast and well. He'd done well enough on the O.W.L.s the first time around, but soon he'd really have to focus. Besides, he'd realized, everything he was learning now he would need later, except Potions, possibly. Well, maybe. He messed up the hair at the back of his head, wondering when in his career as an Auror he would need to brew a Draught of Living Death. To play dead for the enemy? Eh...


	6. The Creeps

Just five more nights to make everything absolutely perfect for the auditions on Wednesday. And Lily knew that two of those nights would be occupied by homework, while another was already reserved for a Quidditch celebration, whether Gryffindor won or not. So, in all honesty, just two more nights to prepare for the dancing audition that was five nights away.

Lily knew she shouldn't be worried, because she, Johannah, and Emmy had taken extra care in their preparations already, and everything truly should be just fine. Emmy gushed over how marvelous the dances were, and Lily did have to admit to herself that they'd done a pretty great job.

Johannah had put together a ballet sequence, Lily had created a tap arrangement, Johannah had devised a jazz arrangement, and Lily had choreographed a short snippet of "Cell Block Tango" for the girls. Emmy, however, wanted to see who had the moves in hip-hop, and introduced to the girls an intense exercise routine that could be easily picked up by the participants. Laughing and out of breath, Lily and Johannah had gladly learned it, burning off the many calories they'd eaten at dinner the night Emmy had suggested it.

They'd been at it every night since the first meeting in the library, and should have the dances down pat by now, Lily figured. Nonetheless, that did not stop her from worrying. Would she forget it? Would Johannah? Would Emmy? Would all the hopefuls have their hopes dashed because it was too difficult? No, Lily told herself soothingly, they'd gone over what was too hard and what they could easily get away with. So everyone should be okay, right?

Sure! On the other hand, being the good student who always worried that she was, Lily unnerved herself more by letting herself worry about the disrespect she'd receive from the takers. Forget Black, she could easily ignore him, but make him do what she said? With Black leading as an example to the rest of his admirers, how could she give direction to anyone? She'd simply have to establish herself as "someone not to be crossed," the very first thought she'd had upon meeting Professor McGonagall all those years ago. Lily recognized that that was what would need to take place, but she could never do that. Johannah could, but not her.

Johannah, though small and not initially exhibiting a commanding sort of presence, would be very effective, Lily saw, in ordering around the many teenage boys that had pledged to show up. She was the quiet, sweet girl in the classroom and everywhere else, but she was very serious about her dancing, until she'd collapse in the middle of a _step-shuffle_ combo from exhaustion. Lily was glad to be working with Johannah, because there was definitely a thing or two she could learn from her. Johannah was confident, but not over-the-top.

So a few days prior to this desperately important Friday night, Lily approached Johannah, catching her in the hallway on her way to her free period. When Lily asked Johannah how she'd gotten that way, she'd expected some story from her past or some other complicated answer or advice that Lily could never copy. Johannah seemed to recognize Lily's real fear, though. Her serious grey eyes smiled up at Lily with secret laughter. She did allow a short laugh as she tugged on the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

"You're worried that they won't listen to you at the auditions, aren't you, Lily?" Lily opened her mouth to speak, but sighed and nodded instead. "Lily, please. You're the dance captain. They'll listen to you."

"That's very nice, Johannah, but a title won't mean anything if I don't act the part. I have to be assured and poised about everything. Absolutely _everything_. Like you are, Jo. How do I act that way? You know, so I don't always stutter and say 'erm' too many times like I do when we're rehearsing?" Lily's green eyes followed Johannah's out the window as she pressed one corner of her lips together in deep thought. Johannah lit up and snapped her fingers.

"I know! Two things, Lily. First, I'll make you act the part when we're rehearsing together, okay? So no more stuttering and 'erms,' got it? Second, just think about the whole thing the way I do. We have a clear goal. Teach them all those dances in a few hours' time, right?" Lily nodded. "Right! So, keep that goal in mind and be completely focused about it, as we always are together, but make it much more displayed. Get it?" Johannah smiled hopefully.

Lily smiled widely and nodded. "Great, Jo! Thanks so much! Oh…and if Remus doesn't have a good handle on Black," she whispered, "then I'll leave you to handle him. I dislike him too much and wouldn't trust my judgment, should he…ahem, misbehave." Johannah nodded understandingly.

"Right," she had said.

Now, Lily walked purposefully on Friday, this first of two precious nights of practice, homework mostly done, to the empty classroom they'd been using for the past week in which to learn and team up on everything. Once the casting was all done and things settled into a regular routine, things would get less stressful, Lily was convinced. But, she had to ask herself, how much talent would they have to work with? Who would they have to reject? How small would the cast end up being? Lily shook her head, deciding not to think about it now, and gripped her dance bag around her shoulder tightly.

The corridor and room were by no means secret, but Lily, Emmy, and Johannah had not given out their location with the hope that they would be able to keep everything under wraps. Emmy had already gotten there by herself ten minutes earlier as part of her plan to keep them inconspicuous. Lily would arrive at the fifteen-minute mark past Emmy's arrival, and Johannah at the thirty-minute mark. It was an excellent plan, Lily thought, but wondered why Emmy wanted to do this so secretly. It wasn't such a big deal if people saw them, correct? They shouldn't always have to put a silencing charm around the room so that no one would hear their feet and music, right? Lily shrugged to herself slightly, not understanding, but trusting her director's judgment.

She was just about to pass by the Great Hall, coming down the marble stairs stealthily, keeping her footsteps light under the balls of her feet. She craned her neck forward and surveyed the area all around her. It seemed deserted. Most students were either in their common rooms, the library, outside, or part of the small group that was gathered in the Great Hall. Sure that she would be able to pass by the great doors unseen, Lily stepped down onto the landing and was about to take off down the corridor in the other direction when a grinning Sirius Black stood in her way of the direction in which she had planned to go.

"Where're you off to in such a hurry, Evans?" he asked. "And why so sneaky? Studying isn't that secret around here, you know." His smirk was unbearable, and Lily, remembering how Johannah conducted herself, did not allow the annoyance she was feeling to show.

"I will be as secretive about my studies as I please, Black. Excuse me." Lily answered him firmly and stepped to the side to go around him. He stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Lily sighed. "Do you mind? I said, 'Excuse me,' Black." Sirius grinned mischievously.

"I do mind, as a matter of fact. You see, if you're sneaking off to study, an official Marauder has to know about it. We know _everything_ that goes on around this school, Evans. _Everything_." Lily huffed and thought up the best excuse she could to get him off her back.

"Oh, really? Does a Marauder have to know which makeups, boys, and monthly cycles that a girl is going to talk her mates about in the bathroom for the rest of the night?" Lily lied as sincerely as she could. Immediately Black's face screwed up with surprise.

He stepped away from her and stammered as best he could, "I-I-I didn't know y-you had friends."

"How kind of you. Well I do, and we're going to be doing that for a few hours, so if you'll excuse me." Lily swept by a slightly disgusted Sirius and hurried to the private corridor and empty classroom, one minute late, smiling to herself. It was quite fun making one of the most over-confident boys in the school uncomfortable. Johannah joined her, on time, Lily noted, and they began stretching and talking with Emmy about the auditions.

"You know, guys, I really appreciate this enormous help you're giving. We've really been putting a lot of time into this. I am _so_ cheering for Gryffindor against Ravenclaw tomorrow!" Emmy chatted happily as Jo and Lily stretched the muscles in their legs on the floor. As soon as Emmy said that, they looked at one another, smiled, and jumped up from their splits to tackle her in a giant hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, Emmy!" Johannah gushed.

"Thank you so much, Em! We _love_ you!" Lily babbled, her voice muffled between Johannah's shoulder and Emmy's arm.

"I know, guys. Now please don't suffocate me." Jo and Lily drew back quickly, apologizing profusely. Emmy chuckled and waved her hand toward the middle of the room. "Forget it, you two. Just go show me "Footloose" and maybe I'll consider forgiving you," she said with a wink. Lily and Johannah nodded and rushed to the middle of the floor as "Footloose" came on in the room. This was Johannah's jazz number, and Lily absolutely loved the energy she had put into it. She didn't miss a single step.

Next, they slipped on their pointe shoes and reviewed the thirty seconds of "Once Upon a December" that they had put together. This was going to be for anyone who wanted to try for more difficult dances, and Lily hoped that there would be enough of both boys and girls so that they might be able to manage to cast enough people for a ballet number that she had choreographed herself years ago. She had spoken to Emmy about it and Emmy had loved the idea and suggested that she dance the lead herself, since she was dance captain, after all. Lily crossed her fingers as she leapt across the floor with Johannah.

An hour and a half into practice, Lily and Johannah were working on Lily's short tap dance routine to the song "Goody Two Shoes." Emmy was attempting the steps herself, clapping and jumping up and down with Lily and Johannah's tapping feet, and they were all breathless with laughter. Emmy looked so funny, panting and messing up her hair and sweating, all with a huge, determined grin on her face. After a few tries of dancing without laughing, Lily let herself fall down on the floor, every inch of her begging her to stop laughing. Johannah soon followed, leaving Emmy still dancing like a crazy person until she ran clean out of breath and collapsed next to the two laughing girls.

"That was fun," she breathed, giggling furiously. She exhaled deeply, catching her breath, then looked at Lily and Johannah. "Do you think you two've got the dance down enough?" They stopped laughing, finally, and nodded. Lily felt tight all over after laughing so much, so while the other two rested up, she spread her legs over the floor in a left split and leaned forward on her left leg, extending her arms forward and allowing her nose to touch her knee. It felt very relaxing, until loud, boyish shrieks filled the corridor outside and the door to the classroom flew open.

Lily's torso remained leaning over her front leg, but her head snapped up from its resting place on her knee. Into the room ran all four Marauders, who quickly slammed the door shut behind them, panting and chuckling to one another. Emmy stood up and crossed her arms.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat loudly. Four heads, followed by the rest of their bodies, quickly turned around and shock was clear in their expressions as their eyes alighted upon the three girls.

"Blimey," Peter squeaked. Lily narrowed her eyes at the four boys from her position, before noticing Potter's paled stare.

* * *

><p>James had grabbed the arm of either Peter or Sirius as soon as Filch's voice and Mrs. Norris's wretched meows filled the corridor. He had no idea where he was going, nor that the room they had stumbled into wasn't empty.<p>

He couldn't stop himself from gazing. Merlin's beard, how in the world had he not known that Lily Evans was that flexible? He mentally scolded himself for his ignorance as he observed the defined line of the calf muscle in her right leg as her foot pointed behind her. And the way her chin rested on her knee so close to floor made what she was doing look so incredibly simple and natural, even though he was absolutely positive it wasn't. _He_ surely couldn't do that.

Before he began to drool, he caught Lily's green eyes glaring and diverted his stare immediately, tugging at the hairs on the back of his neck. "Er-ah-erm…" he managed. Thank Merlin for Sirius Black in the extreme awkward moments of teenage life.

"_What _are you _doing?_" he sort of squeaked, the tone of his voice absent of the suave note it always held. This time he sounded very, very shocked and completely unprepared for what they were seeing. Emmy Ponder stood in front of them with her arms crossed in front of her.

"I might ask you the same question, Sirius Black," she said sternly. "We're trying to work in here. We've only got a little time before the auditions on Wednesday to finish polishing these dances, so if you don't mind, _leave_." Sirius' look of immense surprise immediately twisted into a comfortable smirk.

"_Dancing_, are you? Well, then, you don't mind if we watch while Filch looks for us, then, do you?" he said smoothly. Emmy began to look a little uncertain. Johannah snapped up from her split in an instant. She knew Emmy had a little soft spot for Sirius, and assumed the commanding presence that she had during a dance instruction and strode over to him.

"Oh, no, you don't, Black. We're working. Don't you dare," she ordered, prodding him toward the door in the upper arm with her index finger, seeing as she was too short to reach his shoulder. Sirius held up his hands.

"Ouch, Caseley. Never seen that side of you, I haven't," he replied. Johannah narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, it's there, and you've seen it, so now you can leave."

"Hold on a minute." Everyone in the room looked to Lily, who was now standing up with her arms crossed and rolling her eyes. She huffed a little before continuing. "I promised Remus I'd cover for him this Friday to keep him out of Slughorn's club meeting. They can stay if they need to, but _only_ until Filch goes away." She strained her ear toward the classroom wall. Filch's angry voice echoed outside the classroom.

James grinned elatedly. "Thanks, Lily!" he said a little too eagerly. Lily chuckled and shook her head.

"I can't believe I'm saying it, but you're welcome. Just stay over there and act like you're not here, okay?" she said to all four of them. Remus shot her a grateful look and she returned it with a warm smile. "What were we working on, again, Emmy?"

"Goody Two Shoes," she said as the Marauders sat in the corner and Johannah strapped her taps back on. Lily slipped hers on, too, and pulled an oversized tank top from her bag and over her head when she caught James ogling her leotarded torso.

_Boys,_ she thought, annoyed.

"Okay, you two, finish that up while I finish taking down the hip-hop," Emmy directed. Lily nodded and reviewed the steps with Johannah and ran it once before Lily realized, with a dead stop of her heart, that they still had to do the "Cell Block Tango" _with_ those teenage pigs sitting in the corner watching them. She complained to Johannah quietly when Sirius cracked a joke among the group as they slipped on their jazz shoes. Johannah huffed and swore under her breath.

"Johannah!" Lily hissed. "Cursing them, though satisfactory, won't solve anything," she said gently, trying to placate her. Johannah sighed.

"At least it's only thirty-eight seconds. Plus, since they're here, we'll have the excuse to be _plenty_ angry," Johannah reasoned, with a smirk. She looked over to the group of boys and grinned impishly at Lily. "You can kick Black in the face if you want to. You know, on the…" Johannah demonstrated the high-kicking motion of the sequence and Lily giggled.

"With pleasure," she simpered.

Lily started the music and _stepped, passé-d, kicked, cha-cha-cha-ed, stomped, leapt_, and fueled all negative energy she might find into her arms and legs as she concentrated only on the steps and the chalkboarded wall in front of her. Johannah switched places from behind Lily to the front and Lily was quite pleased that she wasn't missing a single step and adding all the necessary flair to each one.

"Great job, Jo!" she called as they backed up to the opposite wall and prepared for the high kicks. As she extended her heel upward and brought it back down for a _cross-step_, Lily felt the muscle in her calf and her hamstring stretch with such ease that she knew she'd gotten her kick up high enough (a common concern of hers, since she wasn't the most limber of dancers) and felt immediate relief fire through her veins.

She felt so in control. She smiled smugly to herself as the familiar thrill that came whenever she was dancing flooded her mind. Nothing in the world besides dancing ever made her feel so graceful, strong, powerful, and unstoppable all at once.

Lily eyed Johannah to remind her about the final pose, _pirouetted_ twice, and stuck the landing with both arms draped over her head as her left foot absentmindedly pointed away from her on the floor. After high-fiving Jo, Lily realized that the room was cleared of the Marauder's loud, boyish conversations. In fact, the place was rather silent.


End file.
